The First Tie to Serenity
by Kaylabugs
Summary: Itachi x OC. They're best friends, and they had known each other since the village had created the truce between the Uchiha and Senju clan. Their friendship had been an unexpected one for most people, because he was an Uchiha and she a Senju.
1. Chapter 1

"Sakuno-san!" A small Sasuke yelled. She turned to see him running at full speed toward her.

_Oh gosh,_ Sakuno laughed, _He's so cute!_ "Sasuke!" Sakuno yelled.

Itachi could only laugh at the scene that was taking place. "Slow down Sasuke or you'll run her over!" But Sasuke did not slow, instead he ran faster toward Sakuno.

Sasuke then took a flying leap at her, and she held out her arms to catch him in a hug. Making her off balance, and they fell to the ground.

"Sakuno, Sakuno, Sakuno! Will you and Nii-san train me today? Please! He was mean yesterday and didn't." Sasuke whined.

Sakuno giggled and looked over to Itachi who had a huge grin on his face. "Well?" She asked.

"Not today, Sakuno and I have some things we need to finish." Itachi replied coolly.

"Oh?" She just looked at him, pondering what it is that needed to be done; she didn't think they had any homework; in fact, she was sure they didn't.

"Aw, but Nii-san! You never play with me anymore! And you always take Sakuno-san away from me! I want to play with her too!"

"I'm sorry Sasuke, maybe next time." Itachi poked Sasuke's forehead, and smiled. "Why don't you go and run along now." Sasuke got up and ran, obviously upset that his brother and Sakuno wouldn't train him.

"Did I miss something?" She blinked, _what could be going on?_

"I wanted to talk to you." He said simply. It was apparent that he wasn't going to elaborate.

_Well that's frustrating, _She sighed, but she knew better than to interrupt and ask before he was ready.

Itachi was in no hurry, he would speak to her when they got down to the park, she was sure of it.

**Uchiha Itachi.**

He was her best friend, and they had known each other since the village had created the truce between the Uchiha and Senju clan. Their friendship had been an unexpected one for most people, because he was an Uchiha and she a Senju.

Those two clans had been enemies for so long that a friendship between the two had been shocking. But that wouldn't change the connection that Itachi and Sakuno had. They had both experienced the trauma of war, and the death that it brings. They both wanted peace and would do everything to keep it.

However, even now, the wars between the two clans still took its toll on everyone. Her father was an example of this. Her father and herself had lost most of their immediate family including her mother in the wars, and that had taken its toll on her father's mental status. Now all he did was drink and lay around the house, cursing the truce that now made up the village of Konoha.

So Sakuno would normally just care for herself, but that was ok, she was thirteen after all. Itachi was also thirteen, just a few months older than herself. They had gone through everything together. Graduated the ninja academy at age 7, with him at the top of the class and her coming up second, and they also just went through the chuunin exams together, again Sakuno came second to Itachi.

But she never did mind coming second to him, he deserved to be first, he was powerful and intelligent.

But one day, she was hoping to not come second to Itachi, but to become his equal, able to stand by his side. But Itachi was a prodigy after all; there may be no catching up to him.

Who was she kidding; she couldn't beat Itachi, let alone be his equal. She smiled at that thought.

Itachi was looking over at Sakuno, and noticed she was smiling. It made him wonder what it was she was thinking about. _Her mind must be wandering to all sorts of places,_ he smiled to himself.

While he looked at her he noticed something different, her amethyst hair was pulled back in a braid today, and normally she would never pull it back.

Her hair was long; it reached all the way down to her hips, and she had such pale skin that it looked almost unhealthy, but had a faint blush of pink to her cheeks.

She felt his stare and met his obsidian eyes with her burgundy ones.

He stopped walking. "Sakuno" He said quietly. "I need you to promise me something"

_Promise?_ "Of course, what is it?" _Why is he so serious all of a sudden?_

"When the time comes, take care of Sasuke."

"I promise." _What's going on?_ "Of course I would, even now. I consider him my little brother… What brought this up all of a sudden?"

His black eyes wouldn't look at her now; for fear that she would be able to read them. "No reason" He again said very quietly.

"Itachi, tell me. What's wrong?" _I don't understand._

He had to think of something to tell her, she wouldn't let silence be his answer this time. "Well we're going to be ANBU soon, so we'll have to go on some dangerous missions. If something were to happen, I wanted Sasuke to have someone."

She just looked at him. What could she say to that? It didn't feel like the truth, but it made sense. "Whenever I'm able I will always take care of you and Sasuke. You may beat me at everything, but I wouldn't let you or Sasuke get hurt." She tried a smile.

He let her continue to think that she could protect them _both_, so he smiled back at her. "Thank you" Was all he could say.

Sakuno nodded, and looked up towards the sky; the clouds looked grey and angry. It would rain soon.

**xxxXXXxxx**

My home was there and then, those meadows of heaven

Adventure-filled days

One with every smiling face

Please, no more words

Thoughts from a severed head

No more praise,

Tell me once my heart goes right

Take me home

**The Poet And The Pendulum –Nightwish**


	2. Chapter 2

Pitter patter pitter patter… over and over the rains rhythmic sound chattered. Sakuno stared out the window, watching as each drop fell. The rain was soothing, calming; it silenced out the rest of the world.

_Itachi… _was the only thought in Sakuno's head, everything… something… seemed off, different. _What was going on?_

It's been two days since Itachi last talked to her, he had been sent on a mission. Even with him being the Uchiha prodigy she still worried, how could she not? The last time they had spoken he seemed strange, _"When the time comes, take care of Sasuke…_ _If something were to happen, I wanted Sasuke to have someone." _Sakuno recalled the words from their last conversation. _Please be ok, Itachi._

She could sense his presence anywhere; even if he tried, he couldn't hide it from her. He was just outside her house, waiting… for her? She saw him out the window and turned to leave slowly so to not wake her drunken father.

Finally outside in the pouring rain, she saw him, "Itachi," It came out like a whisper. His sharingan was activated, but it looked different from before. It had the shape of a wheel this time, instead of the normal tomoes that would be there. Also she noticed that he had blood coming from his mouth, running down his chin. Fear immediately struck her and she started to run towards him, "Itachi!"

Itachi looked at Sakuno, _Why did I come here of all places? _His vision was becoming dark, he couldn't risk her. _Why did I come here?! _"Sa…kuno…" He said with a saddened smile, and then he fell to the ground.

_**xxXXxx**_

Everything hurt, and breathing was a joke. He practically felt like he was drowning, slowly he opened his eyes. _Where am I? _

Then he remembered, and tried to sit up quickly, but someone had stopped him. His eyes searched for this unseen force, and burgundy eyes were his answer.

"You shouldn't be moving around just yet, your chakra is spent and your body is hardly healed yet." Sakuno smiled.

Itachi would believe that much, but he couldn't be in a hospital not now, _no one is supposed to know, _"How long have I been here?"

"About a day" Sakuno said simply, she was so glad he was ok. "I'm sorry about your friend Shisui" She bowed her head in reverence. "How are you feeling?" She touched his forehead to check his temperature.

"Fine… I don't want to be here" and Itachi didn't, _no one can know._

"You're sick Itachi, you can't leave yet"

_She knows! _Panic started to fill Itachi, "How do you know…"

"You were out in the rain all day, when you came to my house. You have a cold Itachi. Are you sure you're feeling ok?" She asked again noticing his panicked reaction.

"Oh…" relief filled him, if anyone; he didn't want Sakuno to know of his illness. It was slowly killing him, and he didn't want anyone to stop it. No one could know, for they would show him sympathy he didn't feel like he deserved. _Not with what I need to do…_

"I would feel better if I was home." His tone was serious; he really didn't want to be here in this hospital.

"I'll see what I can do" Sakuno said, and she turned to leave, but Itachi grabbed her.

"Wait…Thank you…Kuno-chan" Itachi had purposefully used the nickname he had given her when he was a child, hoping to make her smile.

Sakuno blushed; Itachi hadn't called her that in a long time, why now? She quickly turned away so that he wouldn't see.

_**xxXXxx**_

It seemed that the hospital didn't mind letting him go, however she did. She looked over at the man next to her. Something was different. Almost as if he matured over night, _I'm sure it's because of Shisui; Itachi really looked up to him. _

Itachi was paler than normal, and his eyes distant. "Itachi, are you sure this is for the best? I mean the hospital can take better care of you than I can." She didn't want to screw something up.

Itachi stopped walking and turning to look at her. "I want you. You are the only one I trust to take care of me."

_I want you. _ Sakuno really blushed now, even if he didn't mean it the way she hoped, it was still a compliment. "Ok" Was all she could mutter.

_**xxXXxx**_

Finally, after a few days Itachi was much better. He began training and studying again in order to become an ANBU. Sakuno would normally join him, but recently she couldn't focus on anything. The Konoha Military Police had been investigating the suicide of Shisui, and were harassing Itachi, thinking he somehow murdered his best friend. _Itachi could never do such a thing. _ Her mind wandered, she remembered Itachi when he had came to her that night. His sharingan was different, and she couldn't understand why. _Maybe he mastered a stronger version of his sharingan, _which was understandable because he was a prodigy.

Now that she thought of it he still hadn't shown her the sharingan's full power. If she was going to become his partner when they were appointed ANBU then she would need to know what its strengths and weaknesses were, and he would need to know hers. Also, she would need to know how to overcome the sharingan if she ever were to get caught in its Genjutsu.

Whenever Sakuno was attacked by some specialty move it would only take that one time for her to figure out its strength and its weakness. Stating she was still alive after the technique was done. She wasn't second to Itachi for nothing, she had great analyzing skills. As does her father, and it was also passed on down to her.

Slowly she stood up to go find Itachi; it was about time she started to train with him. Plus she did have a few questions that she needed him to answer.

Finally she reached the Uchiha compound, "Sakuno-chan!" Sasuke yelled.

"Hello Sasuke how's the academy?"

"It's boring, since I'm number one in my class" Sasuke puffed up, trying to impress Sakuno.

Sakuno giggled. "Of course, I wouldn't expect anything else." She ruffled Sasuke's hair.

"What are you doing here? Coming to play with me?" Sasuke hoped.

"I would love to, but I came to train with Itachi." Sakuno felt bad, it seems all she's been doing lately is ignoring Sasuke.

Sasuke pouted, "Can I at least train with you guys?"

"I'm sorry Sasuke" She couldn't have Sasuke around if she was going to train with Itachi's Sharingan, and especially if she wanted him to answer her questions.

"How about this, tomorrow I'll come over just for you and teach you some new shuriken throws, how does that sound?" Sakuno smiled.

"Promise?" Sasuke's eyes lit up.

"Promise" It seems she's been doing a lot of that lately. Sasuke said his goodbyes to her and then ran home.

Sakuno went to the training grounds and found Itachi. She couldn't help but notice his muscular form, and how handsome he looked.

Itachi must have felt her staring because he looked over right away. "I'm glad you're feeling better, I came to train with you" She smiled.

Itachi sat down on the ground and looked up at Sakuno, her amethyst hair was flowing around her face. Her eyes were fierce, she had something she needed to say, he knew her so well.

"What did you want to ask me?" Itachi asked, knowingly.

"I want you to put me under your most powerful Genjustu." Sakuno said simply.

Itachi eyes widened in surprise he didn't expect this, if anything he expected that she would question him on the Shisui matter. "No." Itachi said. There would be no way he would put her through that kind of hell, at least not yet. Plus he wasn't quite sure he wanted her to know his weakness.

"Itachi, I think that this needs to be done, I need to know what it's like, and I need to understand how your sharingan works to be able to overcome it. Even if there may not be one, I need to find a weakness, and you know that the only way I can do that is if I have seen it once." Sakuno explained, she wasn't going to back down, she needed to be prepared for anything, and she wanted Itachi to be the one to do it. She needed him to do this because she trusted he would not kill her in the process of the technique.

"No" Itachi again said. "I refuse, find someone else." Itachi went back to throwing his shurikens into the nearby targets.

"Please Itachi, It has to be you. This way when we are partners in ANBU you can know my strengths and weaknesses and I can know yours. Please, Itachi I want to become stronger and I trust you to be the one to put me through this. I want to be able to stand beside you and not be the one to hold you back." _Please_

Itachi sighed. "You'll be put through tremendous pain, every traumatic or painful memory that you have you'll relive. It will last for as long as I wish, it could be hours or days, which ever. But will only last a few seconds here." Itachi said hoping to persuade her.

"Ok, do it"

"You could be hospitalized for days."

"Well in that case, you best tell Sasuke that I lied to him, and I'll show him some new shuriken tricks when I'm better." Sakuno tried to make light of the situation.

"Sakuno," Itachi said in a serious tone, "I don't want to be the one to do this" he muttered.

"I'm ready, Itachi, I trust you."

_**xxxXXXxxx**_

I'm searching for answers

'Cause something is not right

I follow the signs,

I'm close to the fire

I fear that soon you'll reveal

Your dangerous mind

It's in your eyes,

What's on our mind,

I fear your smile and the promise inside

It's in your eyes,

What's on your mind,

I fear your presence,

I'm frozen inside.

**A Dangerous Mind – Within Temptation**


End file.
